WTI Up Slightly as Divisions in OPEC Emerge

West Texas Intermediaries (WTI) is slightly higher following a reduction in the number of oil rigs in the United States.

A report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that the country’s oil drillers reduced the number of rigs by 4. The number of rigs presently stands at 796. This is however higher than the number of rigs active at a similar time last year when the country had 617 rigs active.

The increase in rig count in turn resulted to a 23% increase in oil production. Today, the county is producing more than 10.3 million barrels of oil per day.

The news came as Wall Street Journal reported about divisions in OPEC. The organization has been divided into two camps, with each signaling a different ambition for the oil price. On one hand, Iran wants oil to remain at $60 to punish shale producers while the Saudi Arabia camp wants oil to be above $70.

WTI is currently trading at $62.11. At this price, the shorter-term MA seems to be crossing the longer-term MA in a bearish manner, which may see oil price drop slightly.